Given what we are learning in ecology about populations and limiting factors, what do you think the carrying capacity of planet Earth is for the human population? What limiting factors, abiotic, biotic, density dependent and density independent, do you believe pertain to humans? How do you think other populations of organisms will be affected by the growing human population? How do you believe your life will be affected by the growing human population? (250 words)

Reply 75 words each

1.

If we are at 7.2 billion people right now, I wouldn't really think we should go over 15 billion world wide. As it is there are countries that people are crawling over each other to do anything because their populations is so large, India for example is a very populated place and not nearly enough room for them all. Limiting factors would include things that happen around the world already, there wouldn't be enough food for everyone or water, natural disasters will inevitably happen like major earthquakes, fires etc. You also have to take war into effect and note that if war breaks out then there wont be as many men to mate with the women. The earth would be so crammed together that the soils would probably be ruined quickly and waste products would be unable to be disposed of properly, this would cause disease. More pollution in the air could change the climate as well and that could all cause more deaths as our bodies would not be used to it and not everyone would adapt well.

Other populations and organisms would start to die off I would think. Humans would be taking over the earth and there wouldn't be much room for the wild animals and the waters would end up so polluted that the sea life may even start dying off. I think that if we reached carrying capacity that our lives would be drastically different, there wouldn't be the excess of things available to us (even if some are expensive they are still available), we would have to be rationed resources most likely and learn to live with less. As Americans we have naturally lived with more than other countries populations ever have, we would need to take a lesson from then and learn to scale down on our waste and use of resources.

2.

The carrying capacity of planet Earth? Does anyone really know the answer to that question? If we are talking about room for more people, there is room for more people. If we are talking about some type of quality of life then maybe we reached our limit long ago. Look at the problems we have in over populated cities. They have crime, poverty, and a poor quality of life. People were not meant to live like this. I think we could sustain more people. We have the knowledge and technology to produce more food. But can we distribute food to the population? Look at Africa and the ongoing civil wars that they have. We try to send food but it is confiscated and held as ransom.

In the past, populations were naturally eliminated by sickness and disease. During the middle ages the Black Plague killed half of the people in Europe. Now with modern science, many of these diseases cease to exist.

As human population grows there is no doubt that other populations of organisms will be affected. More natural habitat lands will need to be turned into food production farms. As cities they will encroach on natural lands and species will have to move on, adapt or be limited. Personally I see my life being affected by the growing human population by smaller and less of everything.